We took the kids to WDW! - All done, Now Bonus features! Festival of Holidays 2/23

franandaj

I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
For those who know Fran and I you are probably reading the title, and scratching your heads right now thinking, “Don’t all your kids have four legs and they aren’t allowed at WDW?”


Well, yes. But it turns out that we have some other kids in our lives that we were’t so aware of. They are not OUR kids, you notice the title reads, we took “the” kids. Jim and Alberto.


Or there is the alternate choice for title, “Hold that Bus! How we barely missed almost every bus.”


So this trip has been in the works for probably four years now. Ever since we got back from the trip we took in 2010 where we brought my parents along, we've talked about bringing some friends. We knew that Jim and Alberto were the next set of friends that we would bring, and after seeing my photos from the 2011 F&G Festival, Jim had expressed an interest in going at this time of year.

Anyone who has been following for a while will remember the years of one canceled trip after another back in 2011-2012. In 2013 we had our "gamers meet" at WDW and Fran and I had a Southwestern Road trip planned for the spring of 2014. Sometime in 2013 we agreed that the trip with Jim & Alberto would be in April of 2015.

I did everything by the book. I reserved the accommodations at 11 months, ADRs at 180 days, we had plane reservations, FP+ booked, everything was set. And then one month before we were to fly out, Fran broke her leg and I had to scramble to cancel everything and get some value for our points and airfare. It worked out for the best as Jim was having some dental issues which ended up costing him a lot of the money he had saved up for the trip. We decided postponing the trip for a year was probably the best bet.

It has actually worked out for the best as Alberto was able to join us for the trip in 2016. Again I booked accommodations at 11 months, however I didn't have enough points remaining to stay at one location for the duration of the trip. Initially we were at the VWL for three nights and the Treehouse Villas for four nights. However, at 7 months (when my points were good anywhere at DVC properties) I called Member Services to see what I could do. This was also the period when the Polynesian Villas were opening. I had one friend who had already scored a stay in one of the studios. Since there are no one bedroom units at the Poly and Fran has sworn off staying in studios, I figured our only chance to stay here would be when we had friends with us and we could get a bungalow.

We added a night to our two bedroom reservation at VWL for our 4th night there, and then the Accessible Bungalow at the Poly was available for the next three nights. At 135 points per night, that pretty much drained my point coffers! I mean anyone who read my 50th Birthday TR knows I spent that same amount of points for a Grand Villa at the VGC last May, and that was accommodations for nearly a dozen people. And now I was spending as much for four of us! :eek:

But still, we had our 1 week stay and it included three nights in a Poly Bungalow! Now I'm sure staying in a Treehouse Villa might not have been so bad either, but you don't have a fireworks view from your balcony staying there.

The trip began with Fran and myself Cheating on Mickey with Harry. We had two nights at Loew's Royal Pacific before transferring to Disney where we met up with Jim and Alberto. Originally they were supposed to join us, but due to personal matters they were not able to travel on the same day as Fran and I. When they finally booked their tickets, they ended up on a red eye that arrived at 5:30AM in Orlando on Friday the 29th with a lovely three hour layover in Denver in the middle of the night.

So now that you have the history of how this trip came about, let's introduce the players. Fran and I are the DVC owners and certifiable Disney Fanatics. Here we are on some of our trips last year.









Jim and Alberto also love Disney and have had APs for most of the time we have known them. Unfortunately Alberto had a small scare the week before we left, but I have to say that these pictures they posted on FB while waiting for the doctor in the ER give you some insight into their character.



This is only the beginnings of their antics!

And here we are at Disneyland together over the past few years.





So without further adieu let's get on with the TR!
 
So here we are on the Trip Report where we take Jim and Alberto to WDW. However, the first item on the agenda is how Fran and I get to Orlando. Anyone who has followed previous TRs knows that leaving town is always an ordeal for Fran and myself. This has been a precedent for all of our trips for almost 20 years now, and airline trips are far more stressful than road trips. I remember our first flying trip together (a weekend at the San Antonio Riverwalk) and we were up all night all night packing Fran’s suitcase. Ever since then I have always tried to circumvent her last minute ways by offering to pack her clothes. I don't remember specifically the trips we took in the 2000s, there weren’t very many, but I'm sure they were no different, I did usually sleep the night before we left. I think.

It was our trip in 2013 for the gamers meet that we were packing all night and for the first time (after that initial trip) I got no sleep at all. That gave me this desire to REALLY make an effort to pack in advance. Every time it has been an ordeal, but I think our trip to the Mississippi River in March really took the cake. Neither of us wanted to repeat that predeparture mayhem. As a result, Fran had picked out most all her clothes by two days before we had to leave, and handed me the last of things by 1PM on our penultimate day. As a result, I had three of our suitcases in the car by 3PM before we left for band (the night before leaving) and the last suitcase was in the car before I went to bed (shortly after midnight).

We woke easily at 4AM and were ready to leave the house shortly after our targeted time of 4:15. The problem? Well we always build in time to run 1/2 an hour to an hour late. We sat around cuddling with the kitties for a while before finally taking off. There was no traffic on the way to the airport, and check in was no problem. We were cleared for TSA Precheck, so even that was a breeze. We settled on Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and once we finished eating we had to wait at our gate for quite a while, because everything timewise aligned for us. Once it got close to boarding time we found out that our flight left from a remote terminal. LAX doesn't even have anything as cool as a fake monorail to transport folks. The two of us got our own private bus to the terminal and we were the first to board the plane. I know that this is blurry, but it gives you kind of an idea of the route they had to take Fran and I to get on the special bus. There were stairs on the normal route. I grabbed my phone to quickly take these pictures as my camera just wasn’t handy.







This is once we boarded the bus, going to a VERY remote terminal at LAX.







We settled into our seats on the plane and got comfy. I decided to watch the movie Rush Hour since we've been watching the new series on CBS. At some point during the movie, breakfast arrived. I was having déjà vu on the meals from one of our last plane flights





I barely stayed awake during the end of the movie and tried to get some sleep for a while after it was over. I must have got a little rest because I caught a second wind and put Tangled on the TV. I knew I barely had enough time to finish it so I forwarded through the scary parts with the evil mother. They brought me a glass of wine, and then the movie wrapped up just as we were touching down.

We were the second to last people off the plane and it took a while for the scooters to come up. But finally we were on our way in the fake monorail.



I had booked a Mears shuttle and we felt so special as our driver, Ali, was standing at baggage claim waiting for us holding an iPad with Fran's name on it. He was very helpful and we got all our bags loaded into the van and were on our way. Check in was easy, and then we took care of our passes and Express passes.







We were in our room by 6PM where we both immediately took a nap.













At 7PM we were awakened by a phone call from home about band nonsense that I was too incoherent to deal with, so Fran took care of it. Now that we were awake, I realized that I was hungry. So we got ourselves tidied up and headed off to Islands dining room. In the past we'd usually gone to Jakes American Bar, not for any reason other than it had simple American food, burgers and stuff. However, this time around I looked at the menu in advance and besides the burger and Fish & Chips nothing else looked very good. However, Islands had a mix of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and American Asian food. I think they're calling it Pan Asian Cuisine these days. I left my camera back in the room so you'll have to settle for cell phone pics.











We ended up ordering Dim Sum style, all appetizers. We got Beef Satay, Potstickers, Vegetable Spring Rolls, and Crab Rangoon. Even though each order was only three pieces each, we ate the cucumber and daikon garnish for our veggies and were pleasantly full by the end of our meal.



We went back to the room and got ready for bed.
 




Poly reporting in for your TR on her namesake Poly and everything before and after...

I was pleased you gave the background of the trip. I know you and Fran have had to cancel many planned trips but I did not know that a trip with Jim and Alberto was amongst the vacation graveyard as I call it. Oh yes I am a fellow victim too. But I love how you go on to see the positives and plan future trips. It's the best way.

I am sorry to see Alberto in the ER room!

I love the photos you include. That is a charming dress you wear in the first photo and lovely one of you and Fran on the Cruise with Pluto. Cool leather waistcoat!

I am glad you have the packing now sorted. Takes the stress out of it. We have been on those strange crew only routes around airports. The things I have witnessed they do with our Luggage.. I wish I had not..

I love the accommodation you booked. What a nice mix. What a lovely hotel at Universal. I love that room and check out that accessible shower!

Dinner looks very nice. I am pleased I learnt recently after using google after watching an episode of The Good wife what a potsticker is...

Looking forward to reading more.
 
I'm here!

So excited for you that you got to sleep some the night before the flight! Way to go you too.

Sorry to see the ER photos, hopefully everything is good?

We always build in extra time to get the airport and our last time everything aligned perfectly and we were sitting there for a long time waiting to board, but I decided it was much better than being in a hurry.

Love the room layout at Universal, looks comfy.
 
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Looking forward to seeing how this trip that was years in the making and full of plans, cancelled plans and changed plans finally went down.

I'm glad your travel day went pretty smoothly for all intents and purposes. Looks like getting things ready in advance paid off for you!

Your hotel looks great! I didn't realize your dinner was a character meal with Gru and a Minion!
 
I am excited to read your report on the Poly Bungalows. I look at those point totals and know we'll never stay there! We actually liked the Studios at the Poly as they are quite roomy compared to most of the studios, but if you are used to DVC 1-bedrooms not so much. We've ended up twice at 1-bedrooms so far (SSR in 2014 and of course VGC this past February). I could easily get used to that, but we would have to shorten up our stays to be able to afford it, and I'd rather stay for 10 days in a studio than 5 days in a 1-bedroom. In fact, we booked into a value room at AKV for 1/2 our stay in October. I really wish I could get the opportunity to check out the size of a value 1-bedroom, because MAYBE we could afford that one day.
 
Hi! I'm excited to read your trip report! I'm so sorry to see Alberto in the ER, that's never fun. I look forward to reading more!
 
I am here as well.

Looking forward to reading your latest WDW TR along with Jim and Alberto. I am behind on your other TR that it will be hard to keep up.

The room at Universal looks very nice. Dinner at Islands look very interesting which has several Asian cuisines.
 
Present and accounted for! :woohoo: Only Alberto could be so adorable in the hospital. Love all the pics. What's missing are your painted nails.
 
I'm here. I can't wait for this one. Thanks so much for letting me know!!

Your dinner looks amazing!
 
Can't wait to read all about it!

Looks like you had a nice travel day and a great dinner at Islands! (Although it does look like they just need to reprint the menus!)
 
I'm here too. Reading this is going to make me a little sad that our Oct trips don't overlap but I cheer up easy :sunny:
 

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